Robe-rail lock for automobiles.



V; L. DE DONT'NEY ROBE RAIL LOOK FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILEDDEG. 13, 1911.

1,029,493. Patented June 11,1912.

I. y VLD M l. i

VERKIE LUCAS DE DONTNEY, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

ROBE-RAIL LOOK FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 13, 1911.

Patented June 11, 12. Serial No. 665,591.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known "that I, VnnKIr. LUCAS DE DONTNEY, a citizen of the United States,

' residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Robe- Rail Looks for Automobiles; and I do decla re the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, refcrence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. I

My invention relates to improvements in means applied to the robe rails of automobiles and other vehicles to prevent the reinoval or theft of robes or other articles left in the machine. While a device of this character may be innployedin many relations, it is particularly advantageous in connection with automobiles for the reason that it becomes necessary to leave these machines in the street for long periods of time, while their owners are absent. It is, there fore, important that provision be made for securing robes and other articles, as wearing apparel, in such a manner that they cannot easily be removed by evilly disposed persons. This is the object of my improvement, and it consists of equipping the robe rail with arms extending upwardly therefrom at each extremity and forming thereon a series of vertically-arranged ratchet teeth adapted to interlock with spring-actuated rods carried by a vertically movable hollow bar, the extremities of the said bar being arranged to straddle the upright arms of the robe rail, while the rods which interlock with the ratchet teeth enter grooves in the bottom of which teeth are formed. Provision is also made for disconnecting the said rods from the ratchet teeth of the robe rail arms by the insertion of a key in a key hole formed in the center of said bar. Any suitable means may be employed for unlocking the device, no attempt having been made in the drawing to illustrate more than a conventional arrangement which is operative for the purpose.

The lock, of course, may be made as complicated andas' diflicult to unlock without the use of the regular key, as may be desired, or as circumstances may seem to require.

I Having briefly outlined my improved con-- struction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing: Figure 1 is a cross section, taken through the body of an automobile or other similar vehicle, just in front of the robe rail, which is equipped with my improved locking device. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the robe rail andmy. improved locking attachment, the parts being shown on a larger scale and. partly broken away for lack of room on the sheet. Fig 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the device, looking in the direction of arrow 8, Fig. 2, parts being shown in section. Fig. 4 is a cross section, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, looking toward the right. Fig. 5 is a top plan view in detail, illustrating the overlapping inner extremities with the key in place and adjusted to disengage the rod extremities from the ratchet teeth, the key being shown in horizontal section.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the robe rail,

which,-as illustrated in the drawing, is secured to the back of the front seat of the vehicle by the use of brackets 6 having upper and lower arms 8 and 9, perforated to re-,

Each of these ceive fastening screws -10. brackets is also equipped with an upright arm 12, the two arms 12 being located at the opposite extremities of the robe rail proper. Each arm 12 is vertically grooved on its inner surface, as shown at 13, ratchet teeth 14: being located at the bottoms of the grooves, the latter being of sufiicicnt depth to form guides for the outer extremities 15 of the ratchet rods 17, the outer ends of the said rods being beveled to cooperate with the ratchet teeth of the arms 12, the construction of the said teeth and their interlocking rod extremities being such that, as the bar 18, Within which the rods 17 are located, is moved downwardly, the rod cxtremities slip past the ratchet teeth and automatically interlock with said teeth when the downward movement of the bar ceases, each rod being normally thrust outwardly to its limit of movement by a coiled spring ,19, acting on a stop 20 with which each rod is equipped, the opposite extremity of the spring engaging the stationary stop 21, .extending across the hollow bar 18 on the in side,.the said stop 21 being perforated to allow the rod to slide freely therein. The stop 21 thus forms a guide for 'therod, as well as a'stop for the spring. Each rod is further guided by passing through a perforation 22, formed in the closed end 23 of the bar, the latter being equipped with flanges 2-1 at its opposite extremities, which straddle the upright arms 12, thus guiding the bar in its vertical movement up or down in the performance of its function in connection with the upright arms.

The body portion 25 of the bar 18 is semicircular in shape in cross section, its free edges being bent upwardly into the cavity of the said body portion, which is hollow for the purpose. These inwardly bent parts 26 have their outer surfaces roughened, preferably, whereby they are adapted to take a firm hold of the robe or other article which is to be held thereby. This body portion of the bar cooperates with the robe rail 5 to perform the securing function, the rail being allowed to enter or partially enter the hollow body member 25 of the bar, as the latter is forced downwardly into engagement with the robe or other article hanging upon the said rail.

The portion 27 of the bar in which the rods 17 are located extends above the semicircular body part 25, being centrally secured to the latter and extending longitudinally thereinto. The inner extremities of the rods 17 are flattened, as shown at 28, and overlap each other, the overlapping parts being slotted, as shown at 29. The top of i the scmic1rcular part 25, midway of the center thereof, is reinforced, as shown at 30, this reinforcement being provided with a flat upper face forming a support for the overlapping slotted extremities 28 of the two rods.

Located directly above the reinforcement 30 is a cylinder 31, which is rotatably mounted in an opening formed in the top of the part 27, the latter being equipped with a collar 32 upon which a top flange formed on the cylinder rests. The two flattened and slotted overlapping rod extremities occupy a position between the cylinder 31 and the reinforcement 30. The cylinder is equipped with an opening for a key 34, while directly below the key opening is a space 35, between the overlapping extremities of the two rods, when the latter are at their Outward limit of movement under the influence of their springs 19. Hence it becomes practicable, when the rods are in the locking position (see Figs. 2 and 3), to insort the key in the cylinder and cause its inner extremity to'pass between the outer extremities of tlie'overlapping rods. Then,

by turning the key from the full line to the dotted line [itit-llliltllt (see Fig. 2), or glvn g it a gpturtor turn, the two rods may be actuated to draw their outer extremities inwardly sufficiently to disengage their beveled ends from the teeth 11 of the ratchet arms 12. \Vhen this is done, the bar 18 will be released and may be lifted or entirely disengaged from the arms 12 of the robe rail, thus permitting the removal of. robes or other articles from, or placing them upon, the robe rail, as may be desired.

From the foregoing description, the use of my improved device will be readily understood. Assuming that it is desired to place robes or other articles upon the robe rail, the bar 18 may, if desired, be removed from the arms 12, allowing the desired articles to be hung freely 'upon the robe rail. The bar 18 is then placed in position with its extremities straddling the upright arms 12 of the rail. In this event, the outer extremities 15 of the rods 17 will enter the grooves 13, and, as the bar is forced downwardly, the ends of the rods will slip past the teeth of the arms until the bar is lowered sufficiently to secure the articles upon the robe rail in clamping relation against possible removal. When the bar 18 is in this position, the outer extremities of the rods interlock with the teeth of the arms 12 and eanonly be disengaged therefrom by the use of the key 34, as herett fore explained. The

cylinder 31 may, if desired, carry tumblers,

and, as heretofore intimated, may be made as complicated or as difiicult to be tampered with, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination with a robe rail, of upwardly-projecting arms equipped with ratchet teeth, a bar having its extremities constructed to straddle the said arms, the bar having a hollow upper portion, two rods located in the upper portion of the bar and arranged to overlap, the said rods being spring-actuated to cause their outer extremities to protrude beyond the ends of the bar, the said protruding extremities of the rods being arranged to interlock with the teeth of the said arms, and suitable means for actuating the said rods to disconnect their extremities from the teeth of the arms, substantially as described;

2. The combination with a. robe rail, of upwa'r t lly projecting arms, a bar having extret es constructed,to straddle the said arms, a ratchet and pawl connection between the bar and the arms, the bar being formed concave-convex with its concave surface lmvernmst, the lower part of the bar having inlurned flanges flexibly arranged to cooperale with the robe-rail for robesecuring' purposes, substantially as des ribed.

conslruetml to straddle the said arms, and

having a longitudinally disposed cavity in its upper surface, spi'inga tuated rods located in the said ca vity, their outer extremities being arranged to engagethe ratchet teeth of the said robe rail arms, the inner extremities of the rods overlapping each other and provided with openings adapted to receive a key for withdra wing the rod extren'iitieil from the ratchet teeth ofthe arms. the upper part t' the bar having a cylinder centrally located to receive the said hey, the lower part of the bar being interposed between the robe rail arms and con strueted to cooperate with the robe rail for garment securing purposes, substantially as described.

4. The combinationof a robe rail (.(lllllnttld with upwardly projecting arms having vertically disposed grooves provided with ratchet teeth, the robe rail also having bra ket arms tor fastening purposes, and a bar arranged to straddle the said arms and carrying in its indict-portion spring ache atcd rods whose extremities extend beyond the extremities ot' the bar and cooperate with the ratchet teeth-oi the arms, the inner extreinil ies of the rod overlapping eachother and being adapted to receive a key for unlocking purposes, the central portion of the bar having a rotary cylinder adapted to re- 'u The,con'ibination of a robe rail having upwardly projecting arms, and a bar "ertically movable between the said arms, an interlocking connection between the extremities oi the bar and the said arms, the central portion of the bar being constructed to re ceive a key, an operative connection between the key and the interlocking parts, the lower portion of the bar having its lower surtaee concave, and its lower edges bent upwardly into the said cavity, the upwardly projecting parts being adapted to yield as the bar is forced downwardly into clamping relation with the articles interposed bet ween the bar and the robe rail, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

V IGltKll) LUCAS DIC DUNIN'EY. \Vitnesses T. 1*). BmvnN, A. lhnnrr UHmnx 

